For Sheriff, It’s More Bad News

For decades, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been known as the silent sister of the Los Angeles Police Department.

While LAPD exploits have been glorified in such Hollywood hits as “Dragnet,” the Sheriff’s Department has been represented in such eminently forgettable fare as the series “240-Robert.”

While the LAPD has been enmeshed in scandals involving killer cops, officer-involved burglaries and police spying, sheriff’s deputies have quietly performed their duties with little recognition.

These days, though, the Sheriff’s Department is under a new, unusual and decidedly harsh spotlight.

On Friday, the LAPD announced the arrest of Deputy Rickey Ross, an 18-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, in connection with the murder of three prostitutes in South-Central Los Angeles. But the arrest was only the latest in a string of embarrassing episodes for the nation’s largest sheriff’s department in recent weeks.

Among them:

- Sheriff’s deputies responding to a large, noisy bridal shower in Cerritos, wound up in a melee with guests and were accused of beating several, including some who were handcuffed.

- An internal investigation is under way in connection with the alleged burning of crosses before black inmates in the Central County Jail by two sheriff’s deputies. The FBI also is looking into the allegations.

- A veteran sheriff’s deputy hung up on a frantic 911 caller who was reporting a gang shooting murder in Newhall and pleading for assistance. Before hanging up, the deputy told the caller to “have a nice day.”

While some deputies conceded privately that such incidents are bound to affect their work, Sheriff Sherman Block Friday remained calm.

Block, whose steady, evenhanded demeanor seems a metaphor for the traditions of his 7,000-member department, insisted that the confluence of events is mere coincidence.

“I’m not happy, you know; certainly it’s frustrating,” the 63-year-old sheriff reflected after a press conference announcing Ross’ arrest. “But I’ve been around long enough to recognize that things go good, things go bad, and you have to deal with the good and the bad and do the best you can.”

Block, who joined the department at age 32 after having run a delicatessen, insisted that the problems say nothing about his management style.

“I don’t believe it has any reflection; I’m very proud of my department, of the way it’s managed, the way it operates,” said the sheriff, who in 1986 was elected to a second four-year term with nearly 85% of the vote, the widest margin of victory in any political race in county history. “I think our overall record speaks for itself.”

In the bridal shower incident, Block has said his men in fact exercised great restraint and did not abuse anyone. Block also has questioned whether the cross burnings actually occurred. The incidents, which allegedly occurred more than a year ago, became public at a Jan. 6 Civil Service hearing.

Block has acknowledged that the deputy involved in the 911 call acted improperly, but has praised the deputy’s past performance.

Block’s predecessor, Peter J. Pitchess, reacted somewhat differently to the latest news.

“It’s very disturbing that I continue to read and hear about incidents that aren’t the most flattering to the department,” said Pitchess, sheriff for 23 years. “I’m sorry to hear these things happen. We had a very fine department and we had very little criticism of the department and that’s why it disturbs me to see or read about some of these incidents.”

Pitchess, 76, who had a falling out with Block shortly after handpicking Block to replace him, has been one of the few public figures to criticize the sheriff in recent years.

“I’ve heard stories about the morale in the department,” said Pitchess, who now lives in Orange County. “I run into people saying the sheriff tries to be anonymous and the department doesn’t get publicity for things they do. . . . Now he’s getting publicity and that’s too bad, because it’s reflecting poorly.”

Several deputies contacted Friday spoke about the situation on the condition that their names not be used.

“I guess it’s our turn now,” a veteran deputy said. “It will have to have some effect.”

Others, however, emphasized that in an operation as large as the Sheriff’s Department some problems are inevitable.

“It’s just weird,” one deputy said. “But the odds are, it could happen. It could happen to schoolteachers or police officers, too.”